n, 


^ 


A.?"  '^fff?\f? 


THE 


Ghqrm 


-0F- 


aRKO-KEB 


U\AL  Smarms  0f  Kankakee. 


^n    the   B'lm    P 


nmeval 


Days 


One  golden  autumn  day,  two  hundred  years  ago,  the 
famous  ChevaUer  La  SaUe,  with  Hennepin,  the  Jesuit  his- 
torian, and  Tonty,  the  explorer,  making  a  voyage  famed  in 
story  along  the  shores  of  the  mighty  Northern  lakes,  dis- 
covered the  source  of  what  is  now  the  Kankakee  river. 
Before  that  time  no  white  man  had  trod  those  pebbled 
shores,  and  there  was  only  wilderness,  howling  beasts 
and  still  more  savage  men.  Charmed  by  the  crystal  river 
that  flowed  through  the  soft  green  fields,  the  explorers 
ventured  to  penetrate  the  country  through  which  it  ran,  and 
thereby  reached  the  valley  of  the  Kankakee,  called  by  the 
Indians  "Wonderland."  "There,"  says  the  historian,  "we 
rested  to  enjoy  the  beauties  of  landscape  of  which  before 
we  had  but  dreamed." 


'y 


'ream   o 


f  1i;e   Present. 


The  many  years  since   then   have  given  to   that  garden 
•,pot  of   the   North   only  such  additional  beauties  as    man 

5 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE. 


could  supply  without  despoiling  nature's  fairest  handiwork. 
In  the  depths  of  this  smiling  valley  lies  the  City  of  Kanka- 
kee— fifty-six  miles,  or  two  hours'  run,  due  south  of  Chicago, 
six  hours'  ride  from  Springfield,  nine  hours  from  St.  Louis, 
twelve  hours  from  Cairo,  nine  hours  from  Cincinnati,  five 
hours  from  Indianapolis,  and  about  two  hours  from  Lafay- 
ette, Ind.,  and  also  easy  of  access  from  every  other  quarter 
by  the  following  railroads  which  center  there  :  the  Illinois 
Central;  the  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis,  St.  Louis  &  Chicago; 
the  Kankakee  cSc  Seneca,  and  the  Indiana,  Illinois  &: 
Iowa.  This  city  presents  itself  in  most  fascinating  lights 
to  those  who  seek  the  pleasures  of  a  summer,  with  all  the 
charms  of  the  country  and  the  beauty  of  rustic  scenes, 
and  still  the  life  and  pleasure  of  a  leading  watering-place. 
The  natural  advantages  could  hardly  be  improved. 


Oool   Dreezes  of  tpe   [foortr). 

The  river  valley  stretching  southward  from  the  big  lakes 
of  the  North  forms  a  sort  of  natural  channel  for  the  fresh, 
cool  breezes  of  the  great  Lake  Michigan  region,  sweeping 
over  miles  anil  miles  of  sweet-smelling  grain,  until  they 
reach  down  among  the  mammoth  oaks  and  quivering  maples 
of  picturesque  Kankakee.  Centrally  located  with  regard 
to  all  roads,  and  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  curves  of  the 
Kankakee  river,  stands  the  new  and  elegant  Hotel  River- 
view. 


rirst  Ploor. 


Vv^ 


Guest's 

5.-D 

Chamber 

'^  5- 

7 
Guest's 

3 

Chamber 

Kitchen 


Tliiril  J"Ioor. 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE. 


)\)e   Hotel    l\ive 


rview. 


The  Hotel  Riverview  was  erected  by  the  Riverview  Hotel 
Company  at  a  cost  of  about  $70,000.     It  is  of  the  Rustic 
Villa  style  of  architecture,  135  x  140  feet  on  the  ground,  four 
stories  high,  and  a  high  granite  basement.      It  is  furnished 
in  exquisite  taste  and  lighted  and  watered   in  the  most  im- 
proved   methods;    contains    80    guest   chambers   and    can 
accommodate  about  200  people  at  a  time.     From  its  wide, 
cool    galleries — for   its   broad    piazzas   face   the   sweeping 
landscape    at   all    points   of    the    compass  -  are    visible    all 
the  scenic  beauties  of  the  place  for  many  miles  away.     It 
is   beautiful    in    design    and    finish,  with   superb   entrance, 
carriage  portiere  and   broad   balconies  and  verandas  look- 
ing in  all  directions.     All   the  rooms  are   outside  rooms  ; 
every   room   contains    a    closet,   and    all     rooms    are    con- 
necting, so  that   a   family  may  occupy  as   many  or  as   few 
rooms  en  suite  as  they  may  desire.     Many  rooms  contain 
fire-places,  and  the  whole  house   is  heated    by  steam— an 
entirely   new    device    in    summer-resort   hotels,    but   made 
essential    in    Northern  watering-places    by  the   sometimes 
cool     nights    and     mornings.       There     are     several     gen- 
eral   bath-rooms,   and    many    suites    have    separate    baths 
with  hot  and    cold    water.     In  fact,  the   house    has  every 
beauty  and  convenience  that  modern  invention  and  money 
can    supply   as    completely    as    any    hotel    in    New    York 
or  Chicago.     There  are   row-boats   and   steam   yachts  on 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE. 


II 


the  river,  billiard-rooms,  lawn-tennis  courts,  and  croquet 
grounds.  A  landscape  gardener,  imported  from  abroad,  has 
laid  out  the  scene  with  all  the  perfection  of  art. 

The  Riverview  is  under  the  management  of  Captain 
Jewett  Wilcox,  a  well-known  and  successful  hotel  manager. 
He  formerly  conducted  the  Tremont  House,  in  Chicago,  and 
the  famous  Lafayette,  Lake  Minnetonka,  Minnesota.  His 
name  is,  of  itself,  a  sufficient  guaranty  of  the  skill  and  care 
with  which  the  establishment  will  be  directed. 


^\)Q   Beauties  of  t^e   l\ 


iver. 


Following  the  sinuous  shores,  edged  with  pebbly  beaches, 
olf  to  the  far  northwest,  the  eye  is  first  arrested  by  the  del- 
icate tracery  of  a  suspension  bridge  which  spans  the  river, 
erected  and  used  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 

Two  miles  farther  down  the  river,  toward  the  northwest, 
is  the  village  of  Bourbonnais,  where  .St.  Viateur's  Catholic 
college  is  located.  This  is  a  very  pretty  village,  and  the 
drives  and  scenes  in  this  neighborhood  and  along  the  river 
are  very  interesting  and  picturesque,  taking  in  Rock  Creek, 
"The  Caves,"  and  many  striking  and  peculiar  formations  oi 
nature. 

Just  at  the  bend  of  the  river,  southeast  from  the  hotel, 
a  dark-green  clump  midstream  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
chain  of  islands  that  dot  the  river  thence  to  Waldron  and 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE,  13 


through  which  the  httle  steamer,  Minnie  Lilhe,  wends  a  devi- 
ous way  on  her  many  daily  trips. 

Northwest  from  the  Hotel  Riverview  towers  the  Gothic 
Arcade.  In  the  Arcade  the  people's  wants  are  supplied.  It 
is  a  veritable  commercial  casino,  containing  within  its  red 
brick  walls  and  vaulted  roof,  the  theatre,  First  National  Bank, 
Post  Office,  Western  Union  Telegraph,  American  Express, 
stores  and  offices,  the  whole  finished  and  proportioned  in 
artistic  style.  Directly  north  from  the  hotel,  half  a  mile 
away,  is  the  depot  of  the  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis,  St.  Louis 
&  Chicago  Railroad,  familiarly  known  as  the  "Big  Four." 
From  this  depot  Chicago  Avenue  runs  south  to  the  hotel. 


^be   B 


els   and    U\ 


ouievards   and    Unves 


Just  before  reaching  the  "  Riverview  "  the  avenue  takes 
the  form  of  a  boulevard  and,  making  a  gentle  curve,  runs 
around  the  house  and  loses  itself  among  the  groves  that 
skirt  the  river  banks.  This  avenue  is  to  be  still  further 
transformed  into  a  broad  boulevard  for  driving  and  riding, 
and,  when  completed,  will  rank  with  any  of  the  noted  park- 
ways around  Chicago,  offering  easy  and  delightful  means  of 
approach  to  the  many  beautiful  groves  that  he  all  along  the 
river  from  Kankakee  to  Waldron,  a  quaint  little  village  just 
above  the  junction  of  the  Iroquois  and  Kankakee  rivers, 
and  distant  from  the  City  of  Kankakee  about  five  miles. 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE.  15 


Near  the  hotel,  half  hidden  in  deep  clusters  of  majestic 
oaks,  are  the  most  beautiful  residences  of  the  city,  promi- 
nent among  which  are  those  of  Mr.  Lillie,  Judge  Hickox 
and  Hon.  Emory  Cobb — the  last  a  great,  gray  mansion  of 
the  "old  style,"  such  as  our  fathers  knew  in  "the  stately 
days  of  old." 


rrfoodern    ^toci?    Harm. 


At  the  east,  and  adjoining  the  hotel  grounds,  lies  Mr. 
Cobb's  stock  farm,  which  is  noted  as  the  home  of  improved 
Shorthorns,  some  of  which  have  been  sent  to  England  at 
the  long  price  of  $3,000. 

From  the  southeast  porch  of  the  hotel  the  view  of  this 
farm  and  the  water-works,  with  the  river  winding  away  to  the 
southeast,  is  not  rivaled  anywhere  in  this  section  of  the 
country. 

Dird  s-Qye   View    of   ti^e    Illinois    Qastern    Hospital. 

Southwest  from  the  Hotel  Riverview,  across  the  river  and 
about  half  a  mile  distant,  can  be  seen  the  buildings  and 
grounds  of  the  Illinois  Eastern  Hospital.  Here  everything 
is  system  and  neatness.  The  dark-gray  buildings  rear  their 
tops  among  the  upper  branches  of  the  surrounding  trees, 
underneath  which  slope  undulating  lawns,  lightened  here 
and  there  by  beds  of  bright  flowers.   ♦ 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE.  17 


Waving    Fields   of  trrain,  and  t[;e    l\ailroads 
centering  from   all    Uirections, 

The  entire  southwestern  prospective  from  the  hotel 
broadens  into  a  wide  expanse  of  billowy  fields  of  grain, 
across  which  light  and  shadow  chase  each  other  as  the 
breeze  bends  the  tall  wheat  and  murmurs  softly  to  the 
nodding  heads  of  rye.  Railroad  lines,  stretching  to  the 
northwest,  south  and  southeast,  mark  the  course  of  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis,  St.  Louis  iv 
Chicago  Railroads,  which  offer  safe  and  rapid  transit 
from  all  points  of  the  compass  to  this  Queen  of  Summer 
Resorts. 

Huntinn  and    Kisl^inp. 

Within  about  an  hour's  ride  from  Kankakee,  due  east,  on 
the  line  of  the  Indiana,  Illinois  &  Iowa  Railroad,  is  the  famous 
Beaver  Lake  hunting  ground,  where,  in  the  season,  abound 
thousands  of  ducks,  geese,  etc.,  and  within  a  half-hour's 
ride  on  the  Southwestern  branch  of  the  Illinois  Central 
are  the  headwaters  of  the  Vermilion  river,  where  fine  duck 
shooting  is  to  be  had  \n  the  game  season.  The  river  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year  affords  fine  bass  and  pickerel 
fishing,  and  the  gently  sloping  banks  offer  most  tempting 
spots  for  excursion  and  fishing  parties. 


PRACTICAL 


0DVANTAGES  0P  KaNKAKEE 


Sts   Water    rower,   Ooal    Hields,    l\ailroads  and 

rr  manufactories. 

But  the  advantages  of  Kankakee  are  not  limited  to  its 
charming  scener}',  its  beautiful  river  and  its  invigorating 
climate.  The  river  that  gives  color  and  shape  to  its  topog- 
raphy, is  500  feet  wide  at  this  point,  and  affords  one  of  the 
finest  water  powers  in  the  country  for  manufactories.  The 
railroad  advantages  and  proximity  to  the  coal  fields  of  both 
Illinois  and  the  East  are  such  that  coal  for  manufacturing 
purposes  can  be  laid  down  in  Kankakee  at  a  great  reduction 
on  prices  for  the  same  coal  in  Chicago. 

The  manufactories  include  the  Kankakee  roller  grist 
mill,  with  a  capacity  of  150  barrels  per  day;  the  Kankakee 
Paper  Company,  which  manufactures  a  superior  quality  of 
straw-board  and  has  a  daily  capacity  of  five  tons;  the  Keat- 
ley  stocking  factory,  which  operates  forty  machines  and 
makes  15,000  dozen  pairs  annually;  the  Kankakee  woolen 
mill,  which  contains  entirely  new  machinery  and  turns  out 
400,000  pounds  of  wool  yarn  per  annum;  and  among  other 
enterprises  are  the  Woodruff  c^:  Beaumont  foundrv  machine 

18 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE.  19 


shop  (Mr.  Beaumont  being  the  inventor  of  the  Beaumont 
stop-valve  and  fire  hydrant);  tlie  Rodeke  Brewing  Company, 
which  has  been  refitted  the  past  year  with  complete  modern 
machinery;  the  tile  and  brick  factories,  and  the  shoe  factory, 
which  makes  over  400  pairs  of  shoes  daily. 

The  broad  acres  of  finely  watered  lantl  offer  the  best  of 
inducements  for  stock  raising  and  farming.  Building  stone 
is  found  here  in  inexhaustible  quantities  and  of  a  superior 
quality.  It  is  used  almost  exclusively  by  the  Illinois  Central 
Company  for  bridge  piers  and  other  construction  work. 


r   opulation,    f  foewspapers,   Water,    lSiq^T,    Qtc. 

This  city  of  8,000  inhabitants  supports  three  first- 
class  newspapers:  The  Gazette,  Mr.  Charles  Holt  editor, 
and  Mr.  Arthur  Holt  local  editor;  The  ChieJ\  R.  H.  Bal- 
langer editor,  and  R.  A.  Ballanger  (city  attorney)  local 
editor,  and  The  Kankakee  Times,  edited  by  Messrs.  Livings- 
ton &  Shaw.  These  papers  prove  by  their  existence  as  well 
as  their  able  writings  that  the  city  has  its  financial  as  well 
as  pleasurable  advantages. 

During  the  past  season  a  $100,000  system  of  water-works, 
combining  the  direct  pressure  and  stand-pipe  systems,  has 
been  constructed.  There  are  about  twelve  miles  of  street 
mains  and  110  hydrants.  Public  watering  troughs  and 
drinking  fountains  are  numerous. 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE. 


21 


The  city  is  lighted  by  thirty  electric  arc  lights,  suspended  at 
the  intersection  of  street  corners  at  regular  intervals  of  four 
blocks.  Large  and  well-equipped  gas-works  furnish  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  light  of  good  quality  for  in-door  illumination. 
The  streets  are  generally  macadamized  and  finely  shaded. 

The  soldiers'  monument  in  Court  House  square  stands  on 
a  pedestal  of  Quincy  granite,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  seven- 
foot  figure  in  bronze  of  a  soldier  at  parade  rest. 


Sec.35 


T.31  N.,  R.12.  E.OF  SrdP.M 


T.  30  N.,  R.llB.,  E. OF  2nd  P.I 


NDIAN  b&GENDS  and  HlST0Rie  heRE. 


(^be  Liast  rHcin  w[)o  could  (^all?  I    ottawatomie. 

One  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of  Kankakee,  and 
one  that  tinges  its  whole  Hfe  and  appearance  with  quaint 
pecLiUarity,  is  the  prevalence  of  Indian  and  Canadian  names, 
habits  and  forms  of  speech.  For  the  cause  one  must  search 
back  into  the  dim  history  of  this  little  valley  that  was  once 
the  cradle  of  a  race  now  dead,  and  whose  very  speech  was 
lately  lost  by  the  death  of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  aged  85, 
the  "oldest  inhabitant"  of  Chicago,  and  probably  the  only 
human  being  who  could  speak  the  Pottawatomie  tongue. 


^^e    Qarly   (^etilers 


/ 

The  first  white  settlers  were  French  Canadians,  among 
whom  was  Washington  Bourbonnais,  whose  name  still  clings 
to  a  reservation  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  town,  and 
Noel  Vasseur,  agent  of  the  famous  American  Fur  Company, 

23 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE  25 


then  headed  by  old  John  Astor,  of  New  York.  These  early 
settlers  found  the  place  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians — Potta- 
watomies,  Algonquins,  Ottawas  and  Ojibwas,  each  speaking  a 
different  dialect,  based  upon  a  common  linguistic  founda- 
tion. After  these  settlers  came  a  Jesuit  mission,  and  grad- 
ually the  white  man's  encroachments  drove  off  the  Indian, 
until  the  autumn  of  183S,  when  the  last  of  the  Pottawato- 
mies  left  for  the  land  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the  other 
tribes  having  gone  before. 


^be    bast  of  tbe   f^ed    Hften. 

A  strange  story  is  told  of  Shawanassee,  an  Indian  chief- 
tain, the  last  who  died  in  this  valley  in  1834.  He  was 
buried  in  a  pen  of  logs,  and,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
race,  his  gun,  belt,  pouch  and  pipes  were  buried  with  him, 
but  said  to  have  been  afterward  stolen  by  a  half-breed 
named  Joseph  Chabonnier.  History  says  that  four  years 
after  his  burial,  the  old  chief  (reminiscences  of  H.  S. 
Bloom)  was  seen  sitting  upright  on  his  bier  almost  as  natu- 
ral as  the  day  he  was  placed  there.  In  spite  of  this,  how- 
ever, the  bones  and  skull  of  the  old  man  were  afterward 
desecrated  and  taken  away,  no  trace  being  left  of  the  place 
of  burial.  This  hunt  for  the  burial  place  affords  plenty  of 
amusement  and  recreation  to  parties  of  pleasure  seekers  in 
the  summer. 


26  CHARMS  OF   KANKAKEE. 


ynlain  of   the   t'iame    f\an[?al?ee. 

"The  Indians  called  the  present  site  of  the  city  'Ti-yar- 
ack-naunk  '  or  'Wonderland,'"  said  Mr.  Hubbard  in  his 
recollections  before  the  old  settlers'  reunion  at  the  Chicago 
Calumet  Club;  "and,"  he  adds,  "truly  the  name  was  apt, 
for,  as  I  recall  my  first  impressions  when  the  Kankakee 
valley  burst  upon  my  vision,  in  the  spring  of  1822,  I 
thought  I  had  never  seen  a  more  beautiful  landscape  in 
my  life." 

The  origin  of  the  present  name  is  traced  through  various 
corruptions.  St.  Carme,  a  voyageur  of  1693,  called  it 
The-a-li-ke.  Father  Wanest,  a  French  priest  of  17 12,  called 
it  Hau-ki-ki.  Charlevoix  called  it  The-a-ki-ki,  which  he 
says  was  corrupted  to  Ki-a-ki-ki.  "  Theak  "  meant  wolf 
in  the  language  of  the  Mahnigans,  a  race  who  were 
contemporaneous  with  the  Pottawatomies,  if  not  be- 
fore them,  and  who  were  surnamed  "the  wolves."  This 
race  is  said  to  have  been  related  to,  if  not  identical 
with,  the  Mohicans,  told  of  in  Fenimore  Cooper's  novel, 
■'■'  Tlve  last  of  the  Mohicans."  Mr.  Hubbard  says  the  French 
settlers  called  it  "  Qnin-que-que,"  from  which  the  corrup- 
tion to  Kankakee  is  but  natural.  The  Pottawatomies  were 
a  race  of  fighters  and  played  a  bloody  and  leading  part  in 
the  massacre  of  Chicago  in  1812. 


(q-ReWTH  0P  THE   61TY. 


Its    incorporation — -Its    Pirst    l\ailroacl. 

The  original  town,  now  Kankakee,  was  surveyed  in 
1853,  its  postal  name  being  then  "  Kankakee  Depot,"  which 
was  changed,  in  1853,  to  Kankakee  City.  During  the  latter 
year  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  erected  a  freight  house 
and  depot  at  Rivard  Crossing,  two  miles  north  of  the  city. 
It  then  intended  to  go  to  Eourhonnais,  but,  owing  to  exor- 
bitant land-rates  demanded  by  the  farmers,  quietly  changed 
its  route  to  the  present  location.  The  first  dwelling-house 
built  in  Kankakee  was  that  of  A.  15.  True,  completed  late  in 
1852,  some  time  before  the  town  was  surveyed.  In  1855, 
the  Grove  City  House  was  built  and  inaugurated  by  a 
"grand  ball."  The  first  postmaster  was  Samuel  L.  Knigiit, 
afterward  elected  "President  of  Kankakee."  In  1855, 
Messrs.  A.  Chester  and  Col.  A.  W.  Mack  incorporated  the 
first  bank  in  Kankakee. 


27 


28  CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE. 


Klatterina     Dusmess    rrospects. 

Since  those  early  days  the  town  has  grown  and  thrived, 
growing  in  beauty  and  wealth.  The  county  has  a  popula- 
tion of  30,000,  Kankakee,  as  yet  only  in  its  youth  as  a 
city,  affords  great  inducements  to  both  visitors  and  investors, 
and  is  progressing  rapidly  and  steadily  under  the  influence 
of  its  jiublic-spirited  citizens. 


Mow    to    tret    (^Ijere. 


The  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  between  Kankakee  and  Chi- 
cago, runs  six  daily  trains  each  way  on  week  days  and  two 
each  way  on  Sunday;  two  trains  each  way  daily  connect 
Kankakee  and  Cairo  and  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans,  with 
sleepers  of  Pullman's  latest  design  on  night  trains.  Spring- 
field, 111.,  is  well  cared  for  by  the  trains  of  the  Springfield 
Branch,  which  make  the  run  between  the  two  cities  in  quick 
time  and  by  daNdight,  in  l)()th  directions. 

Oilman,  Champaign,  Centralia,  Jackson,  Tenn.,  Bloom- 
ington,  Clinton,  Decatur,  and  many  other  points  which  are 
reached  by  the  Illinois  Central  system,  are  brought  within 
an  easy  and  comfortable  journey. 

The  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis,  St.  Louis  &  Chicago  Rail- 
way (Kankakee   Line),   with  its  splendid  service  of  numer- 


CHARMS  OF  KANKAKEE. 


ous  trains,  elegant  eciuipment,  including  Pullman  sleepers 
and  chair  cars  of  the  latest  design  and  finish,  connect  Kan- 
kakee with  Lafayette,  Indianapolis,  Cincinnati,  and,  by  con- 
necting lines,  with  all  points  in  the  southeast.  Three  trains 
each  way  daily  are  run  between  Kankakee  and  Lafayette 
and  Indianapolis,  and  two  each  way  between  Kankakee  and 
Cincinnati. 

Tourists  from  the  South  holding  Summer  Excursion 
tickets  to  Chicago  or  other  points  will  be  allowed  stop-over 
privileges  at  Kankakee,  either  going  or  returning,  within  the 
life  of  the  ticket. 

For  terms,  etc.,  at  Hotel  Riverview,  per  day,  week  or  sea- 
son, address  or  apply  to  Jewett  Wilcox,  Manager,  124 
Washington  Street,  Chicago,  until  June  i  ;  after  that  date, 
Hotel  Riverview,  Kankakee.  111. 


/. 


^o 


tfX9 


